This invention generally pertains to fuel packages. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fuel package which is of the self-kindling variety.
The invention is specifically applicable to fuel packages which can be utilized in a charcoal grill or the like. However, it should be recognized that the fuel package can be used for starting a wood fire in a wood stove or a fireplace and can also be utilized for starting campfires and the like.
The use of charcoal briquets and similar fuels for outdoor cooking such as barbecues has become widespread. Charcoal and charcoal lighter fluid has therefore been put on sale in grocery stores and similar retail establishments so that it may be purchased together with food. However, the conventional packaging of charcoal briquets is in relatively large and heavy, awkward to handle paper bags. This has proven to be troublesome for a variety of reasons. First, the transfer of charcoal briquets from the paper bag to a grill is a messy and dirty operation. Second, the charcoal is difficult to kindle even when using a conventional charcoal lighter fluid.
Conventional charcoal briquets are normally ignited by dousing the charcoal with lighter fluid, allowing the fluid to soak into the briquets and then igniting the pile of briquets with a match. Once ignited, the fluid must burn away and the charcoal must be allowed to smoulder to a point where the charcoals are hot enough to provide sufficient heat for cooking. The procedure is generally rather time consuming, and if there is any sort of wind, it is quite difficult to start, particularly where the fire is in the open and without shelter. Also, in some instances, if the charcoals are slow to heat up, a person will pour on additional amounts of lighter fluid in an attempt to encourage the fire. This is an extremely dangerous procedure and many people are severely burned each year from uncontrolled fires and explosions resulting from this practice. Also, sometimes a petroleum taste is imparted to the food cooking on a charcoal fired grill by the lighter fluid used.
In general, the phase of kindling the charcoal and starting the fire is considered a dirty, messy, and potentially dangerous job and one to be passed on to someone else whenever possible. Hence, people are frequently deterred from building a charcoal fire not only because of the inconvenience of handling large paper bags of briquets but also because of the possibility of causing injury to themselves in lighting the fire or in tinkering with the fire in order to make sure that the charcoal is burning properly.
Another difficulty encountered frequently by inexperienced barbecue cooks is that they either use too little charcoal and have to add more, cooling the fire and interrupting the cooking, or they use too much and consequently end the cooking process with a roaring fire much too hot for satisfactory cooking thereby wasting a large amount of fuel. A proper charge for the average barbecue grate is one which will burn down to an evenly glowing bed of coals and will continue in such condition long enough to cook two servings.
While there are some self-kindling fuel packages available on the market, none of these has proven to be particularly clean, easy to use, and inexpensive.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved fuel package construction which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.